Every one of us has learned this age old saying in schools. How many of us actually follow, is however, a matter of debate.
To counter the ever-persisting problem of sanitation in the nation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’ or the ‘Clean India Campaign’ on the 2nd of October, 2014. The campaign, however, still has to go a long way to actually make a difference.
But there is one senior IAS officer who is setting an example of making the nation cleaner by leading from the front.
Parmerswaran Iyer, the secretary to the Union ministry of drinking water and sanitation, went inside a toilet pit during his visit to a Telangana village and cleaned the faecal matter himself.
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Iyer was on a visit to Telangana’s Gangadevipalli village in Warangal district along with a team of principal secretaries of rural development departments of various states and representatives of the UNICEF to study the concept of twin-pit toilet technology. The technology converts human excreta into manure within a short period of time.
Iyer, who also heads the ‘Swachh Bharat Mission’, got applauded for his efforts by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his recent ‘Mann Ki Baat’ programme. Later, the PM tweeted as well.
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Prashant Jeevan Patil, the joint collector of Warangal (rural), who was present at the site with Iyer, said,
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“It was a surprise to everybody and after some time, all of us started participating in the cleaning up of the toilet. He led all of us by example in showing that scavenging is not a menial job. And I, too, held the dried up faecal matter, which had turned into manure, with my hands and I was not ashamed of it.”
India, as a developing nation needs more officers like Mr Iyer.
Hats off to you sir.
